March 5, 2008, San Francisco, California – The class action lawsuit
brought by Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) and Veterans United for Truth
(VUFT) against the Department of Veterans Affairs forced VA to confirm two
important facts: the number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran patients
continues rising quickly, and the new law mandating five years of free
healthcare is an entitlement.

In the first major revelation, VA’s Dr. Gerald Cross testified
that 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans were already treated at VA
hospitals after returning home from combat. Of those, VA reported more
than 120,000 were diagnosed with mental health condition, including nearly
68,000 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

VA also reversed their prior position, and now says the five years of
free medical care Congress mandated in the “Dignity for Wounded Warriors
Act,” is, in fact, an entitlement. In court papers filed in
January 2008, VA said the five years of free medical care was discretionary,
which means spending for new war veterans would be limited to available
funds at the option of VA’s secretary.

Arturo Gonzalez, an attorney with Morrison & Foerster, the law firm
representing VCS and VUFT, asked VA’s Dr. Cross, “… if a veteran from Iraq
returns tomorrow and needs medical care from tomorrow to the next five
years, that person would be entitled to care from VA, correct?”

And Dr. Cross replied, “Yes.” He clarified his comments by
adding, “…anything that’s remotely related to their combat service is not
only free, there is no copay.”

VCS encourages veterans with war-related medical conditions, especially
mental health conditions or suicide, to seek treatment at VA. One set
of goals VCS is for veterans to know about VA, to want to go to VA for care,
and for VA to be fully prepared with prompt and high-quality treatment.

VCS will be supplying this information to reporters and legislators so
they know what VA has said under oath.

One of our goals in the current hearing in Federal District Court in San
Francisco is to prevent VA from turning away suicidal veterans seeking
treatment at VA. Of the 1.7 million service members deployed to
the war zones, 800,000 are veterans, and 900,000 remain in the military.
Of those still in the military, approximately 300,000 are deployed to the
combat zones. Action by the court now could improve services for both
our veterans and our soon-to-be veterans.

As of this morning, the court hearing appears to be heading for two or
three days of additional testimony.